Starting mechanism for engines.



E. o. BARRETT.

STARTING MECHANISM FOR ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2T, |916.

1 ,273,808. Patented July 30,1918.

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ERNEST D. BARRETT, or NEW YORK, N. Y. Y

STARTING MEcHANIs-M Foa ENGINES. t

To alll'wlwm it may concern.'

Be it known'that 1,-ERNnsT DBARRETT,

a citizen of the United States, residin` in New York, county and Sta-te of New vork, have invented new and useful Improvements in Startin Mechanism for Engines, of which the -ollowing is a specification. y

This invention relates to improvements in selfstarters for automobile engines'of the compression type,- employing" gasolene or 4other suitable explosiveliquids for fuel, and

hasfor its objects the provision of a simple, durable, yet `effective and extremely economi'- cal construction which'may be easily applied tof'a car without requiring material alteration -or readjustment of any of the 'parts of Saidl car.. Furthermore, when the starter is positioned upon said car it is, exr'zept forits exposed handle entirely concealed witlyiin the hood and may be cranked by hand if desired. Y, ,A

aware that various types of ,selfstarters ,have been devised embodying the principlev of; a 4pulley wheel or lever y,for turning over the engine in order to effect aL compression ofthe explosive mixture within the' engine'cylinders, but my construction differs in. manyiessential and important particulars from such prior constr-notions..k y v The invention isfully set forth and described :in detailin the accompanying, specification yand drawings, forming a part'thereofi invwhichf- `r .Figure 1y is a plan view of `my `improved device applied to the crankshaft of a socalled. Ford. automobile, though obviously other; carsnmay be equipped-`therewith, the engine rbeing shown ldiagrammatically and the' .hoodvk being' removed; .v 4

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of such selfstarter, isolated 4;

Fig. 3 is a side elevationV on theline of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail showin the crank shaft with its belt pulley an the ratchet fitted thereto.

Referring to the drawings and the construction shown therein, as designated by reference numerals, 1 designates the crank shaft of an automobile and 2 the fan-pulley. Apin projects through said shaft and said pulley, and a ratchet wheel 4 is adapted to fit thereover as shown in Fig. 4, said pin thereby holding the same against rotation upon said shaft. The teeth 5 of the ratchet Specification of Lettersatent.

arm '13 of a belrcrank lever 1a ahiehi'ig; iin

secured: to thefbell-cfrankV liever `whereby cutaway atth'e bottom thereofafs-i VPatented uly 30,

Application mea october 27,1916. serial No. 12u74.

wheel are adapted to engagea dol .which i l 1s securedby a pivotf tojan arm swiveled 'in a yoke 9 that is boltedtoI the engine supports' 'and also secured by inea-ns o f 'a strap 00 Positively fOC'fid ilto GQHQCU with v 'teeth 5 by means of a 'compound leyer PflS-llgfhe swivels@ armi 8, the des; a llink 1`2wh1ch1is pivotally 's'curedat one ndjtb by@ link 16, 'seal-ra i@ Vasinflararm,,1,37 'aad red V17, uw, naar earfryjg' anaal@ :18.

engine, sippoits'ald 'S'l'lh Sl'lrpo'rtis' prferabily provideawithia `sich 22 'which may be slipped aromas-aia haben wachtten-S part of the regular cgn'st'rueu'cnfrdfpthegear. A. spring 22 is onneed at' @noeud to the larm '25 ,that is rigidly secured Itothfe said ar`I`n'19',A 'At its opposite end ,said

Y v said spring norm-ally holds; ia release positionfand `thereby `b'y means `of The gaia 'dogV is eentraailyjimapnaa with respectlto'its centerofgr'avityl vis by the referencelet'teraso as t0' 1 ywill vcarry. with it thefd'o'g" 6 thereby causing said d'ogto also n'iove 'anI anti''clockwise direccin and' .to .engagawlthsa tro "arm 26, thusl forcibly',` saidl dog out of l engagement"wiurthe'tea 5, whereby* any damage yto the mechanism preventedsand l the operator is I')r'ote'cted.` The rear end of said trip arm 26 also, as is evident, serves to limit the travel of said dog in an anticlockwise direction when the same is forcibly thrown out of engagement with said ratchet as aforesaid the travel of the dog.

The ratchet wheel 4 carries a pin 28 which is adapted to engage with the clutch 29 of the regular Vhand-cranking mechanism of` the car when it is desired to crank the car by hand. As is evident, the in 3, which is intended t0 coact with the c utch when no starter is attached to the car, is in my com struction engaged by the ra-t-chetwheelft and cannot therefore engage with said clutch.

The operation of the device, as is evident from the foregoing construction, consists in merely pulling on the handle 18 so as to retract the rod 17 inwardly through the pulling out the handle 18 but nine inches,

two compressions can be effected. This is usually ample to start the engine under ordinary conditions, but obviously when necessary the operation can be repeated, though this is seldom necessary.`

If, owing to an accident to the starterit is desired, as above stated, the car may rbe :started by hand-cranking, it being merely necessaryto force the clutch 28 into engagement with the pin 27 and spin the crankshaft in the ordinary manner.

Among themany advantagespossessed by my improved construction are the positive and unfailing action of the dog which prevents it slipping or 'skipping across the teeth of the ratchet-wheel when it is desired to drive the latter in a clockwise direction, (viewed from the front 0f the car). Furthermore, no spring is employed to normally Vretain the dog in contact with the ratchet teeth and therefore as the dog only engages the same during the period of cranking the enginethere will be no frictional wear and tear between the revolving crank shaft and said dog or any other delicate portion of my starter mechanism. In fact I preferably .eliminate vall friction whatsoever between `the starter mechanism and the crank-shaft immediately after the same has been started and the dog has been returnedto its normal position by the spring 28 andthe trip arm 2S.

A(topics of this patent may be obtained to! It' desired the clutch 28 may be arranged to directly engage the pin 3, since the ratchet wheel 4: is hollow, and in that case the pin 27 can be omitted. Various other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In order that the pull upon the heel of the dog 6 may be direct, the same construction as hereindescribed can be employed except that the dog is so positioned below the rod 12 that its heel will not rise above the rod 12 when it is in a horizontal position. In the ordinary Ford car when the heel of the dog 6, as herein shown, is in its uppermost position the rod 12 will lie horizontal.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and vdesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a mechanical starterA for automobile engines of the compression type, the combination comprising an engine shaft, a rotatable collar mounted thereon, vsaid collar having an integral arm projection substantially radially therefrom, a ratc et Wheely IiXed to said shaft adjacent to said collar, a pawl-member the front end of which 'is adapted to optionally engage with .said ratchet wheel and actuate the same, said pawl-member being secured at a point adjacent its geometric center to the outerr end of said radial arm of said collar, andthe center of gravity of said pawl-member lying between its rear end and its point of connection with said radial arm, a pivotally mounted bell-crank lever, means connecting one arm of said lever with said pawl-member, thepoint'of connection of said pawlmember being adapted to lie above the geometric center'of said pawl-member when the front end of said pawl-member is disengaged from said ratchet, means for limiting the extent of movement of they front end of said pawl-member away from said ratchet,

and elongated means connected `to said bell crank lever whereby the same may be actui ated from a distance.

Signed at New` York, county and State of VNew York, this 25th day of October 1916.

j ERNEST D. BARRETT.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington. D. U.

so Y 

